Χ-Play (2003)

NARC, Mario Party Advance, Rave Master and more! (3x40)

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On tonight's episode of X-Play, we review the infamous NARC. Gamers who grew up in the '80s (or just picked up the latest Midway Collection) might have fond memories of the ultra-violent, two-player cooperative, anti-drug romp called Narc. It's a graphically impressive (for the time) coin-op shooter where you mow down bizarre syringe-throwing, uzi-toting psychopaths in the name of justice. Midway is bringing the series back. Arcade junkies are having happy thoughts. Right? After years of bopping around on Nintendo’s home consoles, Mario Party has finally made it to the small screen. But unlike previous efforts, Mario Party Advance is obviously geared towards the solo player. It's hard to believe that fighting games were once the dominant genre throughout the '90s, especially given the current climate. Now fighting games are about as popular as Steven Seagal movies, with only a handful of companies releasing sequels to such tried-and-true franchises as Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Virtua Fighter. Original fighting games, which may very well be an oxymoron, are even harder to come by these days, making one wonder if the genre has been knocked on its posterior a few too many times. Konami has decided to throw caution to the wind with its own attempt at knuckle-cracking combat, a four-player simultaneous fighting game based on the Japanese manga and anime, Rave Master, airing on the Cartoon Network here in the States. Rave Master for Game Boy Advance is the second fighting game starring characters and locales from the Cartoon Network’s animated series of the same name. Rather than follow the same format as the GameCube version, Rave Master on the color handheld features a different lineup of heroes, a new combat system, and obviously a different perspective on the slap-happy action. It also offers four-player simultaneous action--a rare feature for a portable fighting game. Plus, don't miss out on our Weird Games feature. Tune in tonight!